In a press conference Jet2 officials revealed that bookings for April, May and June are up about 7% compared with last year, while package holiday custom has risen by 4% and flight-only passengers soaring 19%
Jet2 is facing a difficult spell off the back of customers changing their holiday habits.
Shares in the airline tumbled by a tenth this week after the travel company warned it was facing higher hotel and flight costs, as well as the delayed delivery of planes over the summer season. The share price had rallied a little by Friday, but was still down significantly over the month.
In a press conference Jet2 officials revealed that bookings for April, May and June are up about 7% compared with last year, while package holiday custom has risen by 4% and flight-only passengers soaring 19%. This reiterates a growing trend among British holidaymakers of booking closer to the date of travel and securing last minute trips. Jet2 said both flight and package holiday prices would rise slightly in the coming year.
The boss of the firm said that above-inflation cost rises had affected key expenses including hotel accommodation, aircraft maintenance and general airport charges, the Standard reported. Steve Heapy, Jet2’s chief executive, warned that there may be delayed delivery of new planes which could cost it extra cash as it looks to cover aircraft gaps over the peak summer period.
Mr Heapy said: “We continue to believe that our customers cherish their time away from our Rainy Island and want to be properly looked after throughout their holiday experience and we will continue to invest in our business to meet these expectations.
“However, we also recognise the current macro-economic conditions and the many demands placed on consumer discretionary incomes, which combined with the later booking profile and cost headwinds detailed, may mean profit margins in the year ahead come under some pressure.”
Despite the headwinds, the company is expecting to report a pre-tax profit of between £560 million and £570 million for the year. That would be a tenth higher than last year’s. Part of the reason for the uplift is Jet2’s expansion to London Luton and Bournemouth airports.
In October Jet2 announced its biggest-ever programme to Greece for summer 2026, with flights and holidays to 14 Greek destinations now available to book from across all 12 of the companies UK airports.
The expanded programme means that three million seats have gone on sale (almost 100,000 more seats than Summer 25), representing 110 routes, including six new routes and five exclusive routes for Summer 26. The programme will also see the companies operate more than 315 departing weekly flights to Greece from their 12 UK airports.
The six new summer routes:
Bournemouth to Kos
East Midlands to Preveza
East Midlands to Halkidiki
Edinburgh to Kefalonia
Edinburgh to Kalamata
Newcastle to Preveza
